Hey fellow monkeys, that's my first post...hope you don't flood me with monkey shit....
The title pretty much says it all... I am trying to get some opinions on what the best MBA program would be in order to break into IB post MBA. I have a rather unusual background as I am a chemistry PhD (public ivy-> UVA, University of Florida, University of Michigan type of school) by training who worked in R&D management for 4.5 years (with 3.5 years of ppl management experience). I got admitted into Duke Fuqua with a 20k merit scholarship and into NYU Stern.
I am assuming that Stern would be the obvious choice for IB? And do you guys have any advice on how to overcome the fact that I will be 35 at the time I graduate with my MBA? Also, do you guys have any advice on how to best recruit for Healthcare / BioTech / Industrials?
go to fuqua if the 20 is per year
it's 10k per year, sorry should have clarified that.
bump
Fuqua does decently well in IBD placement. Including COL should be a lot cheaper than NYU. If family is a concern it's probably a lot easier too. Even if Stern is much more of a finance school, they're close enough that this certainly isn't a no-brainer. Have you spoken with current students at both schools? They're probably your best source of information. Most schools are good about connecting you with very specific people too so they should be able to find people who made the same choice as you.
Thanks, yeah I found the Fuqua folks to be more responsive in general and I really like the Team Fuqua aspect of the program. Thanks for your reply tho, this is pretty helpful!
Based on some of my friends who did MBA Associate recruiting NYU and Duke IB placement in NY is pretty comparable. Both have good representation across the street and helpful alums. OCR is pretty structured for both (NYU probably stricter with networking and coffee chats since it’s in the city). I’d go with whoever gives more financial aid if location isn’t really a big deal for you.
Are you single? If yes, Duke is a goldmine. You'll probably be networking with a lot of rich and connected folk. NYU isn't bad but I think Duke's network will be more valuable imo (networking is one of the reasons why people do an mba)
Can you expand more on Duke being a goldmine? Any anecdotal stories to share.
would go with duke. Between the money in merit and the drastic COL difference you’ll save a ton for the same odds.
bad advice here in my opinion
For IB there are 4 schools which comprise ~50% of the collective IB MBA class: Wharton, Booth, CBS, Stern. These 4 schools place people at every bank and group on the street, no so at Fuqua.
The name of the game at the mba level is alumni connections and influence of the alumni recruiting team (it is actually fairly similar to Fraternity Rush). NYU is stronger here too -there are just more slots for Stern students.
Not to mention that since you are in NYC, you will be able to finagle coffee chats at smaller independents that you might not otherwise be able to (e.g. you reach out to a Raine Group alumni to get a coffee chat in person, which gets you into their process, even though the only run OCR at Wharton and Columbia).
Banking associate total comp is ~300k, not including your signing bonus of 50-70. More than makes up for any scholarship in my opinion.
The move is NYU.
is 300k for BB too or just EB?
Total comp for 1st yr post-mba associate is ~200K = 150k base salary + ~60k signing bonus + 35K Stub
I have to say this was what I expected most people to give as responses. No horse in this race but I'm quite intrigued by the diverse responses to OP's situation.
Thanks, that is interesting. Do you think that COVID will have any impact on Stern's recruiting advantage? If we move to all digital recruiting, than location shouldn't matter?!?
It sounds to me like you are trying to carve out a reason to go to Duke. If you really like the school better- just go there. It’s 2 years of your life and if you really enjoy the rural aspect and everything about the school, go with your gut! As mentioned, you can still get to Wall Street, I was just commenting on the differences in recruiting on a pretty granular basis.
As far as your question- who knows. My personal view is no it won’t because MBA recruiting is run by alumni, but who knows how it will shake out. Again tho, the fact you’re asking and framing the question like that says to me you really really want to go to Duke.
This is bad advice. IB recruiting is virtually the same at the T15 it’s up to you to network/hustle/execute. Deciding factor should be what you actually want out of your experience. Fuqua and Stern are at different ends of the spectrum. One is going to be a tight knit community and the other essentially has school as a “job” but you aren’t doing much with your classmates outside of class/projects. Urban vs Rural feeds that, but is also important in terms of what you are doing in your free time. Both have pros and cons. OP needs to figure out what he wants and go from there.
Edit: also I would argue networking is easier from the “rural” schools in the T15. Nobody expects you in NYC so you can work the phone. Much better than sprinting around midtown because somebody bumped your coffee chat up 30 minutes because of their own schedule...
I mean, this is my first hand experience having gone through recruiting at one of those schools I listed (not NYU). T15 recruiting is really not all the same when it comes to opportunities to place at the most sought firms, and between Fuqua and NYU there is a huge difference in available opportunities. Sure, it’s the “same” in the sense that you are able to get into IB, but the lower T15 like Fuqua tend to place into Citi/Barclays/BofA, far fewer go to GS/MS/Evercore.
NYU is given slots at all the most sought firms, not “they cold emailed alumni and got an interview”, a full OCR process. This comes because alumni run recruiting at the mba level and NYU Stern has people all over the street. A LinkedIn search will bear this out. What’s more, alumni presence also is super important when it comes to converting an offer.
I also REALLY disagree with your characterization of NYU- their class size is like 250 and my friends who went there are incredibly close-knit with their classmates. You don’t need to go to school in the middle of nowhere for that to be the case.
From what I’ve seen as an SA, Stern and Fuqua both placed a number of summer associates at my firm, with Stern maybe placing 10-20% more in headcount. I think it would come down to which school you see a better cultural fit; if you truly want IB, you would be able to get it from either school.
What program placed the most? Wharton/Booth/CBS?
Don't recall specific numbers, but I think it was Wharton = CBS > Booth in general. All three schools were very well represented at my firm though, and I would chalk up any differences to how recruitment just varied holistically during that cycle.
nyu is for losers, hardos, and internationals getting ripped off on higher tuition. go to duke, you will have more fun guaranteed.
But are you really going to be able to chase baddies at Duke if stuff is still locked down?
My understanding is that for the 4 schools listed by the earlier poster (Wharton, Booth, CBS, Stern), if you recruit for IB you have to try pretty hard to not get an offer somewhere (or multiple offers even).
I’m not sure if that’s the case with Duke as well. If you’re focused and do a good job recruiting I’m sure it wouldn’t be too difficult to land an IB role there either (we had a few associates who were from Duke) but Stern will likely make it a bit less work
Congratulations on two great b-school acceptances!
Both schools are strong in IB placement, Stern has the edge and sends a higher % of students to banks. Location, historic placement and the process at Stern in my opinion outweigh Duke's scholarship. I suggest sending NYU Duke's scholarship letter and a polite note (there are a ton of templates on the web) to see if you can get some extra $ consideration.
Your PhD is a strong factor in your favor and will definitely be discussed during your process. I would target banks that have a strong HC/Biotech presence. You will be well received as long as you do well with the normal financial technicals.
Good luck!!!!
Thank you for your comment! Really appreciate the inside, especially the part on how to position the PhD degree. I have gotten really fortunate and I got admitted off the waitlist at Wharton, and therefore I ended up moving to Philly.
@all Thank you for your comments, you guys have been really helpful!
Aut et voluptatibus maiores minus quia tempore. Modi aperiam commodi deserunt voluptas nisi nulla qui. Facilis qui est alias saepe alias.
Cum est asperiores praesentium non quo officiis non. Reprehenderit culpa nemo temporibus odit tempore.
Est natus recusandae est ipsam et magnam. Commodi beatae provident totam hic. Hic et illum est animi.
Ut voluptas illum velit qui molestiae occaecati. Explicabo quo molestiae soluta consequatur accusantium. Sit dolorem qui rerum exercitationem dignissimos iusto. Ut quis aut eum et beatae natus.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Saepe qui eos aut aut sint et. Aut debitis eum temporibus. Qui voluptatem deleniti quas facilis dolore non.
Voluptatem veritatis rem voluptatibus aut. Sint odio expedita cumque. Provident consequatur culpa velit voluptas delectus. Molestiae ut voluptate rerum.
Laudantium modi adipisci excepturi et. Reprehenderit nobis voluptate dolore deserunt. Optio culpa ipsa ut nihil facilis explicabo et. Exercitationem dicta quisquam fugit vel quae. Occaecati a vel perspiciatis error ut eum.
Totam voluptate tempora quia quos numquam illum aut ut. Excepturi voluptates facere officia amet. Saepe autem aperiam amet velit soluta dolorem. Quidem quisquam beatae sit eveniet dicta omnis explicabo.